Merging of Worlds
by Regeane
Summary: The real world and the world of Final Fantasy 8 are merging and no one knows why. Is it because of Ultimecia? Or is it something else?
1. What are THEY doing here!

I own nothing in this story except for the idea of the worlds merging, and the characters of Lori, Karin, and Connie. Everything else belongs to Squaresoft.  
  


We thought it was just going to be a regular meeting for the senior students about College or University, but were we in for a surprise. I guess I should tell you who I am, my name is Lori, and I am a student at Moon River Secondary School, a small town in the northern part of Canada. I have 2 friends, Karin and Connie. I walked into the auditorium, and found that they had saved me a seat with them.

" It's probably another boring University meeting" Karin commented

" Oh probably" I replied.

Our principal, Mrs. Hyland, came onto the stage, and told us that we were going to be meeting a Headmaster from a recently established military academy called Balamb Garden.

"Balamb Garden!!" I thought in shock

"So that's where those damned monsters came from" Connie whispered.

We nodded, I was still in shock, and we turned our attention to a man who said that his name was Headmaster Cid. I frowned as a thought occurred to me. If Balamb Garden was here, and so was the Headmaster, then what the hell is going on?! 

"First of all, I would like to say that we come in peace to your small town. We only want to help you, to show you we are friends I introduce to you Squall Leonhart, and Seifer Almasy, two special forces members who will test your skill in weapons"

"Yeah, like we need that" I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Karin and Connie grinned, and all of a sudden I realized that someone was standing over me. I looked up, and saw that Seifer had come over to us, no doubt thinking we were being insolent.

"You will remain quiet when others are talking"

I nodded, and he walked back to the stage.

"Someone needs to seriously kick his ass" I muttered.

They nodded slightly, and I paused to think about where I had left my bow. Yes, I have a dangerous weapon, but it has been useful ever since the monsters arrived in the thick forests that surround Moon River. The three of us were of the few who actually knew that they were here, and so, we had created weapons for ourselves with what we could get our hands on. I have a bow, Karin has a staff that has blades coming out of it, and Connie has a wickedly curved blade that has hooks on the top edge. I guess I was getting bored because my mind began to wander, which isn't exactly a good thing for me.

"The monsters could attack the city at any moment, you must decide now" Seifer told us rather pointedly.

"If they've been here for a while, how come we've never seen them?" a guy asked from the back of the room

"They have been gathering their numbers together, waiting for the right moment to strike" Squall answered.

As he finished answering, there came screams of fear coming from the hallway leading into the auditorium. 

"Monsters! They're real!"

"That's impossible!"

I unconsciously reached behind me, touching the smooth wood of my bow. A group of grade nines came running into the room, and a moment later several bitebugs, grats and glacial eyes came into the room. I jumped up, grabbed my bow and quiver, and aimed at the nearest bug. My aim was true, but it didn't do as much damage as I had thought it would.

"They're at least at level 6 or 7" I yelled to Karin and Connie. 

They nodded, and Karin jumped forward, crossing her arms upside down

"Draw Fire!"

I watched as she drew several Fire spells, and Connie jumped forward, slashing down, then bringing her blade vertically up to her face 

"Draw Sleep!"

As she drew the spells, one of the Grats hit Karin, and I jumped forward, holding my bow horizontally in front of me, my other hand over my heart.

"Draw Cure!"

As I retreated, I saw Karin readying a Fire spell. She jumped forward, and pointed her staff at a Glacial Eye, casting the spell. It hit the Eye and I realized that the spell had done more damage than I would have to it. Before Connie could get in to kill it, Seifer jumped in, and slashed it with his gunblade, Hyperion. It fell to the ground, and I relaxed, realizing that Squall and Seifer had taken care of the other monsters.

" How the hell did you know how to Draw spells?" Seifer demanded of us

"We live in the outskirts of Moon River, we've been dealing with the monsters ever since they first started appearing" Connie told him

He looked rather startled, as I checked the grade nine girl "Are you alright?"

She looked at me "I..I think so, I got beat up a little, but I'm ok"

I frowned and checked her HP, it had been cut in half by them, so I told her to stand still. She looked at me curiously, as I backed up a few steps.

"Cast Cure!" I said, holding my hand out towards her.

The magic surrounded her, healing the wounds she had suffered, to the amazement of the SeeDs. I smiled and wandered back to my seat, as Karin commented that the spell was a lot better than a Potion. I giggled as I told her that she was the only one stupid enough to go into battle without Cure spells, and she rolled her eyes at me, reminding me she had to use her last Cure on me. Seifer smirked at me, and told Karin that she should reconsider her friendships. I was so angry that I got to my feet and swore at him, using the most nasty words that I knew.

"Lori!" Karin gasped

I took no heed to her, and looked at him, my anger no doubt clearly written on my face. He was just as angry, his green eyes flashing rather dangerously, as he stalked closer. As he approached me I realized just how short I was, but I stood my ground, proving that not everyone was intimidated by him.

"What did you say?" he asked, his voice a deadly whisper

"You heard me you bastard" I retorted.

He turned away from me, and I thought he was going to walk away, when he suddenly turned around and backhanded me. I stumbled backwards as the Headmaster yelled at Seifer to control himself. I watched as he walked back to the stage and spoke to the Headmaster, as soon as he was gone Connie and Karin went to my side.

"Lori, why did you do that? You know he get's mad really easily, and swearing at him didn't help you much" Connie asked

" I did it because he was acting so..."

"That's just the way he is, you know that" Karin pointed out.

I sighed, and sat down looking at the Headmaster. He was telling Seifer something, obviously looking harassed. Seifer nodded, and stood behind him, looking out over the students. The Headmaster started discussing the problem of the monsters, when a tall woman wearing a long purple dress with a fan-like headdress on the back of it entered.

"Oh great, it's Edea" I muttered

She told the Headmaster something, and he turned to us

"This is my wife, Edea. She wishes to tell you something that deals with both our worlds" he explained

She approached the microphone and began

" Greetings to you, I have something that is very important for you to hear, because it directly effects your world much more than ours"

Connie and I exchanged glances, both of us wondering what could be so important that a Sorceress would have to tell us?

"Our world is merging with our own, we are becoming one planet, one place. We do not know why this is occurring, or how to stop it, but we are trying our best"

I leaned over to Connie and whispered that it was probably from Ultimecia's death. She looked at me, obviously wondering the same thing. Karin lightly stepped on my foot, warning me that Seifer was watching us again, and I looked back at the stage. Edea was looking at us and listening to something that Seifer was whispering to her. She nodded slightly, and told us that there would be changes to what our world would look like as they merged furthur. I frowned and considered doing some "research" on their world, or for those who don't understand what I mean, going through the game Final Fantasy VIII. I fought the grin that was appearing on my face, as I heard something about Galbadians. Hmm....apparently they have begun to arrive here earlier than they thought. When we were let out of the auditorium, Karin, Connie, and I walked out of the school, and came face to face with Squall.

"Edea wishes to speak to the three of you"

  
  
  
  
  
  


~~~~~Well, I hope I'll get some reviews for this.....and please be nice, this is my first attempt at a FF8 fic, so I might not be very good at it.~~~~~~~  
  



	2. Huh? A flying Garden and Guardian Juncti...

~~~Once again, I only can claim Lori, Karin, and Connie and the idea as my own, all else belongs to Squaresoft~~~  
  


We exchanged glances, and Karin nodded "Alright, where does she wish to see us?"

"In Garden, follow me"

We followed him into the Garden, and as we walked to the elevator, I marveled at the beauty of the place. I hadn't realized how beautiful the inside was because of the fact that it looks different on the screen...distorted in fact. As I entered, I noticed that Squall was putting a code into the keypad. As we went up, I wondered what that bastard Seifer had to say about us. The doors opened, and he led us into Headmaster Cid's office, where Edea was waiting for us. I swear I could almost hear her theme in my head as I walked into the room.

"Please, sit down" she said, gesturing to some chairs

We sat down, and I glanced at my friends, noticing that they too seemed nervous. I looked at her, she was smiling, and she seemed much kinder than she had been portrayed in the game. However, she was a Sorceress so you could never be sure, so I mentally noted to watch what I did around her. Squall turned to leave, and she held one hand up to stop him.

"Squall would you stay please?"

He nodded and stood slightly behind her, facing us. I wondered why he was behind Edea instead of at the door; I mean, who in their right mind would fight a Sorceress? Someone who obviously doesn't know a thing about magic, definitely not me, although, I did manage to get Seifer mad. I had to fight the urge to laugh out loud at that.

"I understand that you know how to use magic. Can you tell me how you managed this?"

"We actually found out how to use magic totally by accident"

Edea looked at me questioningly " By accident?"

I looked at Connie and Karin, who nodded in agreement.

"She's telling the truth, it happened during one of our battles" Connie told her

Edea's eyes widened in surprise, and she turned to Squall.

"Well, they must learn how to control the use of the magic, and how to use Guardians"

My eyes widened as I realized that she was basically ordering Squall to let us in as Cadets. I knew that it would be hard, but that didn't worry me. What worried me was the fact that Seifer might take this as an opportunity to make my life a living hell. As Squall was about to answer, warning sirens went off

"Enemy soldiers approaching Garden, repeat, enemy soldiers approaching Garden" came an announcement over the intercom.

Karin ran over to the window, and looked out, then swore

"It's the United States, we forgot that they were here! They don't know they have peaceful intentions"

I jumped to my feet, and took the lift to the controls that made the Garden fly. I looked at them, and noticed an airplane-like control stick on it, I grabbed it, and pulled it towards me, it came forward smoothly, and I could feel the Garden lifting from the ground.

"Lori! What are you doing?!"

"Getting us out of here!" I yelled, wishing I could have remembered something as simple as that.

Squall suddenly pushed me out of the way, and steered us away from the soldiers. I reached out in an effort to maintain my balance and glared at him.

"What was that for?"

Of course, in typical Leonhart fashion, he seemed to completely ignore me. I muttered something about their family (yes I am sadistic at times) and stepped on the lift, deciding to go bug Connie and Karin. They both had grins on their faces, as I stepped off the platform.

"What?"

They just looked at each other, and I began to get really mad. I stormed out of the room and began wandering around the Garden just for the hell of it. 

****Several Hours Later****

Well, it's lunchtime, and I'm trying to act like I'm happy about being here, but in reality I'm not. I'm really beginning to hate it. I guess I should explain it from the beginning. After I left the Headmaster's office, I ran into Rinoa.(Also known as the Ditz) She greeted me, and told me that she had to give me something. I told her alright, and we went to my dorm room. Once there, she handed me a package, and I looked questioningly at it.

"What is it?" I asked

"It's your cadet uniform, you have to report to Quistis Trepe's classroom in half an hour" she told me.

Oh great.....more boring lectures. She said goodbye rather cheerily, and left, leaving me scowling at the package. I opened it and groaned. I just knew that it was going to be one of those days of complete and utter hell. Once I actually dared myself to put the thing on, I sighed to myself

"Well Lori, may as well make the best of it"

I pulled out an elastic, and pulled my shoulder length brownish blonde hair out of my face. I wound the elastic around my hair, and pushed my glasses up furthur on my face. Well, here goes nothing.

I walk out of the room, and meet with Karin and Connie. They wave, and run over to me.

"Hey Lori! Who's your Instructor?"

"Quistis"

"Hey! We're in the same class as you, come on, let's go and get crazy!" Karin said

I smiled, and we walked to the elevator. As we went up, a thought occurred to me. Why Guardian Junctioning? What purpose could that hold for us?

"Lori, time to return to the real world" 

I looked at Connie, and couldn't help but grin. I made a mock salute, and followed them out the elevator, and to the classroom. We walked in, and Quistis turned to us with a smile. 

"Class, this is Karin, Connie, and Lori. They will be joining us"

She looked at her computer, and arranged for Karin and I to sit together, while Connie was behind us, beside another cadet.

"Now, in order to junction to a Guardian properly, you must....."

Hmmm... looks like you have to actually be in contact with the guardians, in order to junction them, interesting. I lean forward, relaxing, and listen to the droning voice of my Instructor. I had a pen and a piece of paper in my left hand, jotting down the most important information that I thought I might accidentally forget. I guess I got really into the lecture, because I totally lost track of time until the class was over.

"Remember your junctioning homework for tomorrow" she called after us

"I wouldn't worry about the homework, it doesn't seem that hard" Karin commented.

Connie turned to her "It might seem that way, but we don't know if it is or not"

"True"

I walked to my room, and looked over my notes. I began hunting through the drawers of the desk for more paper, as I needed to seriously fix my notes. They were a jumbled mass of sentences, with arrows pointing to various points of importance. As I began to re-write them, I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in"

"Hey Lori, we were going to get supper, wanna come?"

I looked at them, then my notes

"Ok, but I have to get that homework done"

"Don't worry, we never take very long"

I frowned as I remembered we had no money 

"Hey guys, what about the fact that we have no money?"

"Commander Leonhart loaned us some for supper"

I shook my head, as I poked Karin. She punched my shoulder, and I started chasing her down the halls.

"STOP!" I heard a woman yell

My eyes widened, as I turned towards the voice. Fujin was standing there, along with Raijin and Seifer.

"No running in the halls, you are to report to Quistis' classroom for morning detention" Seifer told us

They then walked away, patrolling the halls. I fumed, what right did he have to do that? We weren't permanent cadets after all. As we entered, I noticed that Squall was being his usual self. Rinoa of course was trying to get him to talk, and I frowned. I wanted to tell her to leave him alone, but I knew it wasn't my place to say so, and I said nothing. We walked to an empty table and sat down. Connie pulled out her Junctioning notes and scattered them on the table.

"Did you understand what she was saying about the contact thing?"

"From what I understood, you have to be in physical contact with the Guardian in order to junction it"

"It's easier in the game" she grumbled

"That's because the concept is easy to learn, the details are much harder" Karin pointed out

"I guess"

As I ate my hotdog, I looked around the Cafeteria. It was brightly lit from the windows, and everyone seemed to be having polite conversation amongst themselves. The relaxed atmosphere suddenly changed to one of trepidation and worry, and I twisted in my seat. Headmaster Cid and Edea had walked into the room, worried looks on their faces.

"Attention everyone, we have learned that our world is becoming theirs. All SeeDs that were on missions around the world have reported that they too have appeared here. We must protect the people of Gaia, and show the people of Earth how to protect themselves against monster attacks" Cid told everyone. There was an immediate buzz from everyone discussing the information. 

"Well, I have to get that junctioning homework done, so I'll see you guys later" I told Connie and Karin

"Ok, see you later"

"Later"

I walked out of the cafeteria, and headed to my dorm, where I kicked off my boots and sat on the bed, my notes scattered out in front of me.

~~~Hours Later~~~

Oh man, I could kill, I'm so tired. Who would have thought that Guardian Junctioning was so much of a pain? At least I got the homework done, now I can sleep. YAY! Oh damn, I forgot I have to 'report' to Quistis' class tomorrow morning with Karin and Connie because of that....thing called Seifer Almasy. I'll get him back, I swear to that.....


	3. Detention, Homework, and Classes

Detention, Homework and Classes

~~~~I own nothing but the idea and the characters of Lori, Karin and Connie. I thank all my reviewers who are putting up with my weirdness which is based mostly on sugar. THANK YOU!!!~~~~

I was awakened abruptly the next morning by someone knocking(or more precisely pounding) on my door. I groaned and sat up

"Yes?"

Seifer's arrogant voice greeted me "Get up and report to Quistis' classroom at 7:45"

I made a face at my closed door, and got out of bed. I looked at the clock..6?! Damn that fool...I grinned as I remembered my plans for revenge. As I got ready, I thought about some of the ways I could get revenge. Hmm...but how? I checked the clock, and sat on my bed, pulling a scrap piece of paper out of my binder. Ok, time to plan. I wrote down several ideas, and looked at them:

Dye his hair, super glue in his shampoo or on his gunblade holster, or, of all the horrors, dye the trenchcoat he always wears.

I giggled as I put the piece of paper away, and walked down to the cafeteria. As I wandered into the cafeteria, I saw Connie sitting at one of the tables. 

"Hey Connie, never thought you'd be up this early"

"Seifer was pounding on my door, how could I sleep with him doing that?"

I grinned "Same here, you'd think he's got a grudge against us or something. All we were doing was having fun"

She nodded, then reminded me that Balamb Garden was a military academy. I sighed, and shook my head, then waved as I saw Karin walk in. I told them I was getting something to eat, and Karin followed. I looked over the breakfast items, and decided on a bagel and a carton of milk. As I walked back, I saw Seifer walk in, and look around the slowly filling up cafeteria. He saw us as I sat down, and walked over to us. It took all of my self control to keep a scowl off my face. 

"Remember you have detention in 20 minutes, don't forget or you'll get another one" he warned

Connie nodded, and he left.

"What an asshole" I muttered

"Yeah, but nothing can be done about it" Karin replied

Connie nodded, as she stood up, and told us she'd wait for us in the classroom. We nodded, and she left.

"Hey Karin, do you have that container of superglue with you?" I asked, quietly

"Yeah, why?"

"Cause I'm going to put it in his shampoo"

"WHAT?!" she hissed, eyes wide.

"I'm planning sweet revenge against that moron. Want to join in my planning?"

"No way Lori, I don't want him any worse than he already is"

"Chicken"

"Damned right, let's go" she said, standing. I stood and we went to Quistis' classroom. Seifer, of course, was leaning against the wall. Probably making sure all those cadets he gave detentions to were actually going to serve them. As I walked in, I noticed several cadets already inside. I looked for a place to sit, and saw an empty spot beside a red haired girl. I walked over

"Is this spot taken?" I asked

She shook her head "No, have a seat"

"Thanks, my name's Lori"

"Aileana"

"Why are you here?"

She snorted "I was 'being too loud' in the hallways"

I smiled, and shook my head "I was chasing my friend because she punched me"

Her eyes widened as she heard that. 

"Hey.....weren't you the one who swore at Seifer?" she asked

"Yeah, he deserved it though"

She grinned then leaned towards the other row

"Jerk alert, row three" she whispered.

A cadet nodded, and that warning passed down the row

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked

"It's a warning to get off the Garden's chatline"

I nodded, and opened the tutorial, telling Aileana that I may as well be looking like I was actually doing something. I heard her laugh softly as I looked at the tutorial on Guardian Junctioning. I 'felt' Seifer pass me before I noticed he had, then frowned. The guy sure has some problems if he can send off bad energy like that.

"I'm going to need one major meditation session after class is over" I muttered to myself.

"Huh?" Aileana looked at me, confused

"I mean to get the bad energy out of my system. The guy seems to be breeding it or something"

She snorted, and put a hand over her mouth to keep her from laughing out loud. She nodded, and typed something on her computer. I looked to mine, and realized that she had sent me a reply, no doubt because she was trying to keep herself from laughing out loud. As I read it, I snickered, and asked her if she would like to help me plan some "sweet revenge" against him. I noticed an evil grin flicker on her face and she nodded slightly. 

"Meet me at the entrance to the dorms after classes" 

"Right, I have some ideas"

"So do I" I replied.

Once we were let out, I walked back to my room to get my homework, and I saw Seifer come out of another room. I quickly realized that it was his own room, and I made a mental note of it. I quickly got my homework, and went back to the classroom. I entered, and relaxed, because I wasn't late as I thought I would be. I walked to my seat, and realized that I was beside Aileana.

"How'd you end up here?" I whispered

"I was transferred into this class because my other one was too crowded"

"All right class, I will be collecting your Junctioning homework for marking" Quistis said, walking down the far row.

I made sure my name was on the paper, and logged into the network. Once Quistis collected the homework, she told us she was giving us a major project. There came a collective groan from the class, and I smiled. Must be a giant pain in the butt.

"Each of you will choose a Guardian and write up a report about it"

Mental note, huge pain, and no doubt hard.

"It will be due in a month, I will be giving you the date next week"

She then told us to go to the Library, and I collected my papers, and left the room. Karin and Connie were waiting for me, and we started for the elevator.

"Wait up Lori!" I heard Aileana call

I stopped and waited for her to catch up. Karin and Connie were giving questioning glances to me, so I explained that I had met her during detention, and that we were going to plan revenge for all cadets on Seifer. I wish I could show you the expression that appeared on Connie's face. It was hilarious. It was a mixture of surprise and fear.

"Are you insane Lori? He's already unpredictable as it is"

"So? He needs to learn that cadets can and will fight back against his oppressiveness"

She just shook her head and told me that she and Karin were going to the Library to look up information on their chosen Guardians. As we waited for the elevator, Aileana asked me what Guardian I had chosen. I told her that I didn't know what Guardian I was going to choose, and that I'd have to look over the list. She smiled and told me she was doing Leviathan. I nodded, and we entered the elevator. As we went down I noticed Seifer walking(stalking actually) the halls, and I made a rather obscene gesture in his general direction. Aileana must have seen me do it, because she started laughing.

"You really don't like him do you?"

"No, but I can forgive him for what he did, he didn't have his own will I think"

"That's what everyone says, he wasn't his.....usual self at all"

The elevator stopped, and we exited, heading for the library, as we were walking I noticed that everyone seemed really worried. I asked Aileana about it, and she told me that the fact that there were people who would destroy them without a thought reminded them of the War that had just ended. Oh great, the Americans are going to get a bunch of magic using warriors scared, and then we're in trouble. I sighed softly to myself, and scanned the titles on the bookshelves as I walked by them. Let's see.....a Guardian that appeals to me, but which one? There are so many. I guess I'll just look through a book to find out which one I'll choose for my report, it's the easiest way. I look through it, and now I have made my decision: Quezacotl. I guess I should start my report, as I always end up doing things at the last minute.

Now, where the hell did I put my pen? Ok, here we go, time to get in gear....

"Hey Lori, you choose a GF yet?" I hear a rather familiar voice behind me. 

"Yeah Karin, I did" 

I turn in my seat, and face her, frowning

"Now can I get back to my work?"

She seemed startled at my tone, and I checked myself. Damn, this isn't good, one day here and I'm already losing my temper.

"Sorry Lori, but Aileana said that you were having trouble choosing a Guardian"

"I basically looked at what I would use the most in the game Karin" I whispered with a smile.

I saw her smile as she understood what I meant, and nod. She then told me that Seifer was supervising the students in the Library for a while because Quistis had to bring a student to Dr. Kadowaki. I muttered a few well chosen words under my breath, as she walked away. I just can't seem to lose the asshole for more than a few hours at a time, what's up with that? Did Squall tell him to watch me or something? If he did then I could just.....but of course I wouldn't because Squall's worse than Seifer in some ways. What he says goes, no matter what the arguement or defense. I got up to put the book back where I had found it, and noticed Seifer walking to the back in order to make sure no-one was skipping the research period no doubt. He walked past the aisle, and as he did so, he had this look on his face that I didn't like. It was like a smirk, but also almost a sneer, and I made a gesture at him. He stopped for a few seconds, an unreadable look on his face, then continued to the back. Oh great, did I piss him off in any way? But then again, wouldn't he go completely psycho? I just don't understand anymore. He could be worried about the American threat, but he never was worried about the state of Balamb Garden before. Oh well, I can ponder this later when I have the time, which of course I don't exactly have right now.

~~~Training Center~~~

Oh wow, it's just like a jungle in here. Except of course the fact that a jungle was never this dangerous. I notice that the other students in my class are whispering, and pointing at my bow, and I know they think it is a primitive weapon. I know it is, but it can be quite deadly if you know how to use it to it's full advantage.

"Attention everyone, you will be paired up with SeeDs who will test you to make sure each of you has chosed the weapon best suited for you" An instructor told us.

Oh great, what could go wrong now? Actually, alot could go wrong, but I never consider these things of course. The instructor started naming pairs, and as I heard my name called, I muttered a curse as I realized who I was with. Yep, you've probably guessed it by now, the former Ridire (or, for those who don't know Gaelic, 'Knight') himself. I walked up to him, and he looked at my bow.

" You're gonna end up dead by the time you let the arrow go" he told me

What a thing to say! This coming from a guy who should know I'm new at this!! I guess some of what I was feeling showed on my face, because he started to laugh at me.

"You don't know a joke when one is given do you?"

I made a face "Not when someone like you is telling one"

He shook his head and told me to follow him, as he started to walk away. I sighed, and started to run after him, geez, I consider myself fast, but Seifer's just worse. Of course, he does have a height advantage over me, but...AHHHH!!!! A T-Rexaur?! Oh no. I have yanked out my bow, and loosed an arrow at it's eyes, but it just enraged it even furthur. I notice Seifer jumping at it, and slashing at it's legs. It turns around, and I manage to avoid it, but my bow is ripped from my fingers, and Seifer is knocked over. I rush in, and cast one of the Thundaga spells I have at it, and yell at Seifer to get up before it attacks again. He scrambles to his feet, and runs, while I lead it away. Once I lose it, I make my way back to the battlefield to get my bow. As I enter the clearing, I see Seifer with the now broken pieces of my bow.

"Damn, I'll have to get a new one"

"I don't think so, it's too fragile for this kind of fighting. You need a stronger weapon"

"Like what?"

He looked thoughtful as he considered it

"You'll have to figure out what works best for you Lori"

I nodded, and walked towards the entrance, considering what he said. The only other thing I was good at was the Twin Blade..I wonder if I could find one here....Hey, there's Quistis! Maybe she could help me. 

"Hello Instructor"

"Lori! What are you doing here? Where's Seifer?"

"He's making sure the others are ok, we got into a fight with a T-Rexaur, and my bow got smashed"

"Oh dear, we'll have to get you a new one"

"Could I look through the weapons that are here for a replacement weapon until I get a new one?"

"Sure"

I walked over to the 'bin' and looked inside. Hmm, seems like the usual stuff..hey wait! I pull out a circular device, thinking it was like Rinoa's Pinwheel, and realize that it was a Twin Blade. Hehe, this is perfect.

"Lori? Is everything alright?"

"Everything is perfect Instructor" I say as I turn around, noticing a Grat coming out of the bushes.

I hold the Twin Blade and throw it at the Grat, watching with glee as it worked like it was soppoased to. I caught it, and turn to her with a smile.

"I was always good with weapons that you have to throw in cretain ways" I explain to her.

"At least you found a weapon that you can use" She tells me

I smile, as I hear rustling behind me, and I turn to see Seifer coming along the pathway. He tells us that everyone is alright, and that they are returning to the clearing. Once everyone is there, we are dismissed for the day, and I head for the dorms, and my meeting with Aileana. 

~~~~Dorm Room~~~

Well, that was definately interesting. Aileana had some very good ideas that she gathered from the other cadets for a long term war against the oppressor. This is definately going to be an interesting time in the school known as Garden, a time where a small band of outnumbered warriors stands against the oppression of the 'government' under the leadership of Seifer Almasy. The warriors of rightousness shall prevail over the forces of evil. Only time will tell now what will happen along the paths of destiny.


End file.
